Beach season is upon us! I, for one, am super excited to get my toes in the sand and watch my kids enjoy themselves in their most favorite environment: the beach! Before we head off for our first beach trip of the year, there are a few things I've come to learn are ESSENTIAL and VITAL in making sure our trip is seamless and fun.

I have that picture framed in my husband's home office. I think it's the perfect representation of his relationship with our sons: present, engaged, involved and interested. Seeing this picture gets me all excited for our upcoming trip to North Myrtle Beach in June!

Before we head off, there are a few things I MUST have at the beach to ensure we have a great time.

1. Sunscreen

I included this in the list even though most of the population WILL think to use it, there are still too many who will not. Please please please be sure to slather or spray your family with sunscreen, this year especially. Skin cancer rates are very high and it's never too late to begin. It shouldn't need to take a personal experience with cancer to know how important this is!

2. Beach Cart

This is the Rio Brands beach cart and it is perfect for all of your beach carrying needs. It will carry quite a few beach chairs, umbrella, toys, cooler and the list goes on. We spent too many years having every member of our family load up our arms and backs with items and finally said, "no more!"

At around $80, it's such a worthwhile investment.

3. Baby Powder

Why baby powder? 

If you haven't used baby powder as a means to take sand off little hands and feet instantly, you need to see it to believe it. When I was told about this trick, I could not believe we had gone years already without knowing it. Every little one needs to blow their nose, wipe their mouth or itch their eye (800 times). You shake a quick sprinkle of powder onto their hands and the sand instantly vanishes. It's like rainx for beach sand! Give it a try. It takes up very little space in your beach bag. Oh and if harmful baby powder fumes are a concern, there are some GREAT organic baby powder options on Amazon! This Burt's Bees Baby may not suit you, so just do a quick search for many more options.

4. Cell Phone Case

Even if you think you don't need one of these handy dandy cell phone cases, you do. Trust me. I will never look back. It can get wet. You can use the touchscreen through the plastic. You can snap a picture of your sweet little one and plop the phone back onto the sand all willy nilly without a care in the world. Anything to make life a little easier, am I right?!

5. Lip Balm and Insect Repellent

These two do not go together but were small enough to group together! Please be sure to apply and reapply lip balm with spf to your children's lips throughout the day at the beach. You'll be so happy you did. Insect repellent (whether it be essential oil combinations or organic varieties) is a great item to have at the beach. You never know when pesky sand gnats or flies will be present that day.

Maybe you already have all five of these items ready for your next beach trip, but if not then I hope something stood out as useful to you! Making memories at the beach is one of my absolute favorite things in this world. It is my hope that my children will grow up with a huge storage vault in their mind filled to the brim with warm, happy memories spent at the beach together. 

If you have any other "must have" tips to share, please do so in the comments section! I would love to hear. 

Blessings,